First a little background: I have little to no experience programming and I have never touched Java before.

Please forgive my ignorance if my terminology is off.

I would like to create a Desktop database application that I can allow others to download and use for their personal use. This is assuming that I can complete this project and have it done right. It will be mostly for windows but I have some Mac and a few Linux users. My understanding is that Java works well cross platform IF coded properly.

I am still learning database design and will hopefully finish my database design process soon.
This is why I’m now starting to look ahead at what I need to work on next. But I must admit that all the options and tools to use is overwhelming.

Here is what I’m looking to accomplish. (I will put in parenthesis stuff that I have briefly looked at so far and it may or may not pertain to the subject because I might be confused.)

A portable desktop app with a self contained database. (JDBC, SQLite, MySQL)

At the core it will be an Inventory database where a user can input a quantity for items that they saw for a particular day and location. I would like to have calculations that can show total number of items seen for that day, week, year(s) or location(s) in a query view. (SQL)

For coding (IDE) I have looked at NetBeans and saw something about Eclipse.

I have a good Idea how I want the UI to look and would like the most flexibility here. (Swing, NetBeans, Thinlet, and something about XML, CSS, and Adobe Flex integration)

I would also like for the app to have the ability to submit reports to a VBulletin forum. In other words the app will create a new post when the user selects the option to submit to forum.

Is JAVA a good language for this type of application? Or is there something more fitting for my needs?

Thank you for your time and assistance. I really appreciate any direction/advice that I can get.
Tony

If I was unclear about something please let me know.

Hi TCoomer,

I think Java is perfect for a such system.
Take a look at derby database.
I believe NetBeans is the best free IDE for such system and it will help you with setting up derby database.
NetBeans will help you to set up your program visualy.
I don't know any API for posting messages to VBulletin Board, but I gues you can find something if you google.

Good luck with your project!

Thank you so much for taking the time to offer your advice. I really appreciate it. This really helps narrow down all the options.

I did some searching for the JAVA VBulletin posting feature but kept getting results for sites like the one we are on now.

I did another quick search adding API into the search this time and found that someone is working on or thinking about a BBAPI.
bbapi.tigris.org if anyone is interested.

Thanks again for your help!

Tony